About a week after my dad died, I was driving home from work and the following story hit me like a brick. I pulled over to the side of the highway and wrote it out on the back of an envelope with one of those little pencils you get at mini golf.

When I was four years old I was given my very first pet; a white mouse named Pierre. He had a wire cage with an exercise wheel and I had to keep his cage clean and make sure he always had food and water.

At the time my dad was a labourer on a turkey farm and one day he brought home a small barn owl that he’d found frozen to a fence post. He put the owl on a hot water bottle, covered it with a towel and a while later ‘Elfie’ woke up. My mom was very surprised, but Dad and I had expected nothing less.

One day sometime later while Dad was at work, mom was in the kitchen cooking and I was on the floor with Pierre on my lap. Suddenly, Pierre nipped my finger and I dropped him. He tried to escape across the floor when Elfie swooped down from the curtain rod above and caught him. Well, I yelled and mom turned to see what had happened and she yelled and Elfie flew into the living room window. Elfie and Pierre fell to the floor and lay still.

I can remember my mom trying to explain what had happened and how warming them up on the hot water bottle wouldn’t help. But she just didn’t understand how it really was and I knew that when dad came home he’d make them all better. Dad came home and I can remember him coming into my room to talk to me. Then we went outside and buried Elfie and Pierre together. He said a prayer and put up a marker and he made a little boy understand enough that it was ok and I felt better.

My dad died last week; I sure wish that I could remember what he said to me that day.

In Loving Memory of
C J M
July 21, 1938- October 13, 1994